Accomplishments

Trained and developed community leaders, ex-offenders who are living lives of integrity and freedom and who have taken on leadership in helping to break the cycle of violence and re-incarceration.

Computer Training Classes for ex-offenders was provided at two community correction centers in Philadelphia in 1998 and 1999. Classes were funded with a grant from Union Benevolent Association of Philadelphia. The course covered word processing, computer terminology, spreadsheets, digital photos, computer graphics and drawing.

Prisons & Punishment: An Unprecedented American Experiment was a 1996 symposium series, created in partnership with the Pennsylvania Prison Society, and held at the Eastern State Penitentiary on Fairmount Avenue in Philadelphia. Chaired by former Mayor W. Wilson Goode, speakers included Dr. James Gilligan, a prominent author, and journalist Linda Wright-Moore. The sessions looked at the core issues of prisons, punishment, and the need to end violence. Other sessions looked at youth violence and the issues of women in prison.

The Leadership In Action Workshop, 2-day workshops in 1994 and 1995, were attended by leaders of Violence Prevention of Philadelphia. Presented in partnership with Operation Peace Philadelphia, workshops were designed to generate breakthrough results in communication.

The End School Violence Program was designed in partnership with Mrs. Jones, principal of Overbrook High School, and the participants of Leadership in Action Seminars. Supported by Dr. Constance Clayton, school superintendent, the program was presented to six Philadelphia High Schools during 1992 and 1993. The curriculum included weekly discussions by an End Violence Facilitator and a teacher. Students examined the impact of violence on the offender, the victim, and their families. Students heard first hand from the ex-offender what his life in prison was like and how it has affected his future. And at the end of the end of the program students shared how they can be responsible for ending violence.

The Leadership in Action Seminar Series (1990-95) captures the heart of the End Violence Project, the commitment to foster, develop and promote the unique contribution of every individual towards ending violence. This program was created with a group of prisoners, known as Lifers, Inc., who were sentenced to life in prison. The program was presented as a 6-month seminar series to the leaders of that community. Through their participation in the program they each took on projects in the areas of drug awareness, AIDS awareness, music, arts, religion and youth at risk support. The program provided an extraordinary opportunity for inmates to make a contribution to ending violence inside the prison walls.

Awards

The End Violence Project has received national recognition for their focus of ending the cycle of violence and including inmates and ex-offenders as an integral part of this process. Since our inception in 1988, we have received awards from the Pennsylvania State Department of Correction and The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) as well as local communities for our originality and our contribution to ending violence.

1. 1997 • New American Community Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
2. 1995 • Volunteer of the Year for Graterford Prison Award from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
3. 1994 • Increase the Peace Hero Award from Power 99FM, a Philadelphia radio station.
4. 1992 • Recognition Award from Overbrook High School for the End School Violence Project.
5. 1990 • Award for Outstanding and Dedicated Service from Lifers Incorporated of Graterford Prison for the Leadership in Action seminar series.